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entitled 'Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Enhance the
Transparency of Annual Budget Justifications' which was released on
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United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
Report to Congressional Requesters:
December 2013:
Bureau of Prisons:
Opportunities Exist to Enhance the Transparency of Annual Budget
Justifications:
GAO-14-121:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-14-121, a report to congressional requesters.
Why GAO Did This Study:
BOP, a component of DOJ, is responsible for the custody and care of
over 219,000 federal inmates—-a population that has grown by 27
percent over the past decade. BOP had a fiscal year 2013 operating
budget of about $6.5 billion, and BOP projects that its costs will
increase as the federal prison population grows. According to
officials, BOP’s biggest challenge is managing the increasing federal
inmate population, and related responsibilities, within budgeted
levels. Generally, BOP is appropriated funds through two accounts: S&E
and B&F. To prepare its annual congressional budget justification for
DOJ, BOP estimates its costs and resource requirements and sends its
requested amounts to DOJ. GAO was asked to review BOP’s budget
justifications.
This report (1) identifies the types of costs that compose BOP’s
budget accounts as presented in its budget justifications, and (2)
assesses the extent to which opportunities exist to enhance the
transparency of information in BOP’s budget justifications for
congressional stakeholders and decision makers. GAO analyzed DOJ and
BOP budget justification documents for fiscal years 2008 through 2014
and interviewed officials to determine how they develop budget
justifications.
What GAO Found:
The largest account in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) budget justification—-its Salaries and Expenses (S&E)
account—-is composed mainly of costs associated with Inmate Care and
Programs and Institution Security and Administration, both of which
have grown steadily since 2008. This growth is due predominantly to
increases in prison populations, which are the primary cost driver of
BOP’s budget. The other two program, project and activity (PPA)
elements in the S&E account are associated with the care and custody
of federal offenders in contract facilities and maintenance and
administration. BOP’s Buildings and Facilities (B&F) account, which
makes up on average less than 3 percent of its budget, pays for costs
associated with site planning; acquisition; and construction of new
facilities and costs of remodeling and renovating existing facilities,
and related costs. In fiscal year 2014, the budget justification
reflected a total of $6.9 billion; of which over 95 percent ($6.8
billion) was for BOP’s S&E account. BOP also provides narrative
summaries of its initiatives, services, and organizational units in
categories and subcategories under each PPA. BOP officials said that
they include these narrative descriptions to provide additional
information to congressional decision makers.
GAO found that BOP is collecting more detailed quantitative cost data
on the components that constitute each PPA, which could be useful to
congressional decision makers when reviewing BOP’s budget
justification. In accordance with departmental and Office of
Management and Budget guidance, BOP’s budget justifications summarize
amounts by PPA, so BOP is not required to provide additional funding
data below the PPA level in its budget justification. Providing this
information to Congress could help clarify what BOP proposes to spend
on specific categories and subcategories reflected in its budget
justification. For example, BOP’s budget justification for fiscal year
2014 included $2.5 billion for the Inmate Care and Programs PPA
element and included narrative information for categories such as
Medical Services, Food Service, Education and Vocational Training,
Psychology Services, and Religious Services, as well as narrative
summaries for various subcategories. However the budget justification
did not include proposed funding amounts for each of these categories.
GAO’s analysis shows that this additional information can be useful in
identifying trends and cost drivers that may affect future costs. For
example, GAO’s analysis identified variations in the dollar amounts
associated with the cost components that constitute the PPA, such as
drug abuse treatment and education, which could affect decision making
for that PPA. However, BOP’s current budget justification does not
include this detail. Congressional decision makers have previously
requested additional information about BOP’s budget presentations and
data below the PPA level. BOP’s budget requests for its S&E account
have increased 33 percent since fiscal year 2008, which makes
transparency in its budget justifications even more crucial.
Consulting with congressional decision makers to determine if it would
be helpful to include in its budget justifications the additional cost
information that DOJ already collects would help provide reasonable
assurance that BOP is fully meeting congressional decision makers’
needs and would enhance the transparency of its budget justifications.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that the Attorney General consult with congressional
decision makers on providing additional BOP funding detail in future
budget justifications, and in conjunction with BOP, take action as
appropriate. DOJ concurred.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-121]. For more
information, contact David C. Maurer at (202) 512-9627 or
maurerd@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Background:
Institution Security and Inmate Care Constitute the Majority of BOP's
Salaries and Expenses Account Costs as Presented in Its Budget
Justifications:
BOP Could Enhance the Transparency of Its Budget Justification by
Providing Additional Data on Cost Components within the Program,
Project, and Activity Levels:
Conclusions:
Recommendation for Executive Action:
Agency Comments:
Appendix I: Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of Prisons' Budget
Request Financial Management Information System (FMIS) Data Fields for
Inmate Care and Programs:
Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for Institution Security and
Administration, Inmate Care and Programs, and Contract Confinement in
the Bureau of Prisons' Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification:
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Table:
Table 1: Proposed Improvements and Offsets in the Bureau of Prisons'
(BOP) Inmate Care and Programs and Institution Security and
Administration Programs, Projects, and Activities Elements for Fiscal
Year 2014:
Figures:
Figure 1: Formulation of the Federal Budget Process and Roles of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Justice (DOJ),
and Bureau of Prisons (BOP):
Figure 2: President's Budget Requests for Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Salaries and Expenses Account for Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014:
Figure 3: The President's Budget Request for the Bureau of Prisons'
(BOP) Salaries and Expenses Account by Program, Project, or Activity
Elements for Fiscal Year 2014:
Figure 4: Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Budget Justification by Program,
Project, and Activity Element for Salaries and Expenses Account for
Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014:
Figure 5: Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Budget Justification Structure:
Figure 6: Categories in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Budget
Justification for Fiscal Year 2014 for Inmate Care and Programs and
Institution Security and Administration Program, Project, and Activity
(PPA) Elements Compared with Cost Center Data Fields in the Department
of Justice's (DOJ) Financial Management Information System (FMIS):
Figure 7: Changes in Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of Prisons'
(BOP) Financial Management Information System (FMIS) Data Fields for
the Inmate Care and Programs' Program, Project, and Activity (PPA)
from Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014.
Figure 8: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Institution Security and
Administration Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with
Funding Amounts Associated with Data Fields in the Financial
Management Information System (FMIS):
Figure 9: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Inmate Care and Programs
Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts
Associated with Data Fields in the Financial Management Information
System (FMIS):
Figure 10: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Contract Confinement
Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts
Associated with Data Fields in the Financial Management Information
System (FMIS):
Abbreviations:
AOE: advanced occupational education:
B&F: Buildings and Facilities:
BOP: Bureau of Prisons:
CCC: community corrections contracting:
CRS: Congressional Research Service:
DOJ: Department of Justice:
DRI: Dietary Reference Intakes:
ESL: English as a Second Language:
FLETC: Federal Law Enforcement Training Center:
FMIS: Financial Management Information System:
FPI: Federal Prison Industries, Inc.
HSD: Health Services Division:
ICE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement:
ICT: Introduction to Correctional Techniques:
JMD: Justice Management Division:
M&A: Management and Administration:
NCA: National Corrections Academy:
NIC: National Institute of Corrections:
OMB: Office of Management and Budget:
PPA: program, project, and activity:
RDAP: Residential Drug Abuse Program:
RRC: Residential Reentry Centers:
S&E: Salaries and Expenses:
STA: Staff Training Academy:
USPHS: U.S. Public Health Service:
VA: Department of Veterans Affairs:
VCCLEA: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act:
[End of section]
GAO:
United States Government Accountability Office:
441 G St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20548:
December 6, 2013:
The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is
responsible for the custody and care of over 219,000 federal inmates--
a population that has grown by 27 percent over the past decade. BOP is
composed of 119 institutions, 6 regional offices, 2 staff training
centers, 22 residential reentry management offices (previously called
community corrections offices), and a central office in Washington,
D.C. With a fiscal year 2013 operating budget of about $6.5 billion--
the second-largest budget within DOJ--BOP projects that its costs will
increase as the federal prison population grows through 2018.[Footnote
1] According to BOP officials, BOP's biggest challenge is managing the
continually increasing federal inmate population, and providing for
inmates' care and safety, as well as the safety of BOP staff and
surrounding communities, within budgeted levels. A variety of factors
contribute to the size of BOP's population. These include national
crime levels, law enforcement policies, and federal sentencing laws,
all of which are beyond BOP's control.[Footnote 2]
The federal budget process provides the means for the President and
Congress to decide how much money to spend and what to spend it on.
The process begins when federal agencies develop budget requests to be
considered in the development of the President's budget request to
Congress and, as applicable, provide the budget requests through their
respective departments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
In support of the President's budget request, departments also submit
congressional budget justifications to the appropriate appropriations
committees, typically to provide additional information regarding the
changes between the current appropriation and the amounts requested
for the next fiscal year.[Footnote 3] OMB provides general guidance to
federal agencies and ensures that budget requests are consistent with
relevant statutes and presidential objectives.[Footnote 4] DOJ also
provides annual department-specific guidance to its component agencies
for submitting budget justifications.
We previously evaluated the budget justifications of other agencies to
assess, for example, whether the budget justifications are presented
so that agency priorities are clear and the proposed use of funds is
transparent.[Footnote 5] In conducting these evaluations, we
identified opportunities for federal agencies to improve information
on program costs and results that could aid congressional stakeholders
in resource decision making and program oversight.[Footnote 6] In
addition, we reported on various aspects of BOP's budget and
operations. For example, in November 2009, we found that BOP faced
funding gaps in its operations account that left it with limited
management flexibility.[Footnote 7] We also found that while BOP had
sound cost estimation practices, the agency could improve the
transparency and documentation of its budget development
process.[Footnote 8] Specifically, we recommended that BOP (1) analyze
the extent to which operations costs could vary because of changes in
key cost assumptions and (2) improve documentation of calculations
used to estimate its costs. BOP concurred with the recommendations and
procured the services of a consulting company to conduct the analysis.
In September 2011, and subsequently in March and July 2012, BOP
transmitted the results of the analysis to DOJ and OMB to support
preparation of the 2013 and 2014 budget justifications, which fully
addressed our recommendation. BOP also took action to improve the
documentation of its budget cost estimation methods. In August 2010,
we met with BOP budget officials to review their fiscal year 2011
budget justification documentation and found BOP's calculations and
results to be well documented.[Footnote 9]
Growth in the federal inmate population and its effect on BOP's budget
is a matter of continuing congressional interest. For example, in the
conference report for the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2012,[Footnote 10] congressional decision makers
expressed concern that the current upward trend in the prison inmate
population was unsustainable.[Footnote 11] You asked us to review
BOP's budget justifications. This report (1) identifies the types of
costs that compose BOP's budget accounts as presented in its budget
justifications, and (2) assesses the extent to which opportunities
exist to enhance the transparency of information in BOP's budget
justifications for congressional stakeholders and decision makers.
To identify the types of costs that compose BOP's budget accounts, we
reviewed DOJ and BOP budget justification documents, budget and
performance summaries and accompanying budget exhibits for fiscal
years 2008 through 2014, as well as the standards and guidance for
developing budget information and leading practices for developing
program costs outlined in GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide.
[Footnote 12] Generally, BOP is appropriated funds through two
accounts: Salaries and Expenses (S&E) and Buildings and Facilities
(B&F).[Footnote 13] Because BOP's S&E account generally represents
over 95 percent of BOP's budget, we focused our review on the S&E
account. Moreover, we selected 2008 as the starting point for our
analysis because BOP began using a consistent format for presenting
information on its programs, projects, and activities (PPA) in its
2008 budget justification.
To assess the extent to which opportunities exist to enhance the
transparency of information in BOP's budget justifications, we
obtained and analyzed the cost component funding information that
composed three of BOP's four PPAs for the S&E account--Inmate Care and
Programs, Institution Security and Administration, and Contract
Confinement PPAs.[Footnote 14] Specifically, we identified the changes
in dollar amounts associated with these cost components for fiscal
years 2008 through 2014. BOP's fourth PPA--Management and
Administration (M&A)--constituted about 3 percent of the total amount
requested for fiscal years 2008 through 2014; thus, we focused our
analysis on the three PPAs that constituted the largest amount of
funds requested. Our report in November 2009 included an assessment of
the reliability of information that BOP officials gathered from DOJ's
Financial Management Information System (FMIS) and concluded that the
data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of the review.
[Footnote 15] To assess the reliability of FMIS data, we interviewed
BOP budget officials who said no changes were made to FMIS or data
gathered from this system since fiscal year 2009; thus we determined
that the data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this
review. We also interviewed officials in DOJ's Justice Management
Division (JMD) and budget officials in BOP's Administration Division
and Budget Development and Execution branches to discuss their
approach for developing and presenting information in the budget
justification. Specifically, we discussed with DOJ officials the
guidance they provided to components for developing budget
justifications. We discussed with BOP officials the type of funding
information and financial management systems used to develop their
budget justifications.
We conducted this performance audit from February 2013 to December
2013 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Background:
Overview of Federal Budget Process and BOP Budget Development:
Through the budget system, the President and Congress determine the
allocation of resources among the agencies of the federal government.
OMB, as part of the Executive Office of the President, guides the
annual budget process, makes decisions on executive agencies' budgets,
aggregates submissions for departmental components, and submits the
consolidated document for the executive branch as the President's
Budget Request to Congress. OMB issues guidance to federal agencies
through OMB Circular A-11, which provides instructions for submitting
budget data and materials, as well as criteria for developing budget
justifications.[Footnote 16] Within DOJ, the Justice Management
Division issues additional annual budget development guidance to DOJ's
components, including BOP, usually about 1.5 years before the fiscal
year begins for the budget cycle. JMD budget staff (1) collect and
analyze all of the components' budget requests, taking into
consideration department-wide policy priorities and OMB guidance; (2)
coordinate with DOJ policy offices; and (3) secure approval and submit
the Attorney General's budget submission to OMB. Key steps in this
process are shown in figure 1.
Figure 1: Formulation of the Federal Budget Process and Roles of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Justice (DOJ),
and Bureau of Prisons (BOP):
[Refer to PDF for image: process illustration]
Federal budget formulation process:
1. February–May:
DOJ component agencies begin the process of planning and formulating
annual budget requests using OMB and DOJ budget guidelines.
2. June–August:
DOJ components submit their annual budget request to Justice
Management Division (JMD) budget staff.
3. June–August:
JMD budget staff work with components, compile requests, analyze
proposals, and make recommendations for DOJ review. Components can
also appeal recommendations proposed by JMD budget staff.
4. August:
JMD budget staff present the package for final decisions and approval
by the Attorney General.
5. September:
DOJ submits budget request to OMB.
6. September–November:
OMB, in coordination with DOJ, reviews spending request, spending
caps, and administrative priorities.
7. Late November:
OMB gives cabinet agencies their spending levels and program guidance
for the budget, or “passback”.
8. December:
DOJ and OMB negotiate any funding concerns; OMB then makes the final
budget resource decisions and submits the consolidated budget
submission to the President for approval.
9. First week of February:
After the consolidated budget submission is approved, the President
submits the budget request to Congress.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP information.
Note: JMD is DOJ's Justice Management Division.
[End of figure]
When developing its budget justification, BOP estimates costs for
budget accounts using three steps, as described below.
* First, BOP estimates cost increases for maintaining the current
level of services for operations as provided in the prior year's
enacted budget. These include costs to address mandatory staff pay
raises and benefit increases, inmate medical care, and utilities. BOP
analyzes historical obligations from the past 5 years to identify
average annual operating cost increases. BOP records its obligations
in FMIS--one of DOJ's financial accounting and reporting systems.
According to BOP officials, FMIS is BOP's primary tool for cost
reporting and budget execution.[Footnote 17] BOP also considers
economic indicator information to estimate general inflationary cost
increases using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer
Price Index, among other sources.
* Second, BOP projects inmate population changes for the budget year
and for 9 years into the future.[Footnote 18] For example, for the
fiscal year 2014 budget justification, BOP projected a net growth in
its inmate population of 5,400 (2.4 percent) for fiscal years 2013 and
2014.[Footnote 19]
* Third, BOP estimates costs to house the projected number of new
inmates, including building and facility requirements. According to
BOP, the increasing inmate population is the primary driver of new
service costs. BOP also identifies and estimates costs for new
initiatives, such as the opening of a new BOP facility, by reviewing
the proposals submitted by its divisions and regional offices, as well
as historical data on costs for implementing such initiatives.
Prior GAO work on BOP Costs and Budget Justification Reviews:
In November 2009, we found that BOP's methods for cost estimation
largely reflected best practices outlined in the GAO Cost Estimating
and Assessment Guide.[Footnote 20] We concluded that for fiscal year
2008, BOP followed a well-defined process for developing a mostly
comprehensive, well-documented, accurate, and credible cost estimate,
and we made recommendations to further improve BOP's process[Footnote
21]. Specifically, we recommended that BOP (1) analyze the extent to
which operations costs could vary because of changes in key cost
assumptions and (2) improve documentation of calculations used to
estimate its costs. BOP concurred with the recommendations and took
appropriate actions to address them as noted above. In November 2009,
we also reported on various challenges that BOP faced, including
prison crowding levels. For example, we found that from fiscal years
2000 through 2009, BOP's total inmate population level increased by 44
percent--from 145,125 to 209,027[Footnote 22]. In November 2009, we
also reported that BOP estimated its total inmate population would
continue to increase by about 4,500 inmates per year over the next
decade.[Footnote 23] In September 2012, we reviewed the growth in
BOP's population and found that the 9.5 percent population growth from
fiscal years 2006 through 2011 exceeded the 7 percent increase in its
inmate capacity, and reported that BOP projects continued population
growth[Footnote 24].
In our work related to budget reviews across the federal government,
we have reported that an agency's budget justification may be the
single most important policy document because it depicts and
reconciles policy objectives, and we have identified the potential to
enhance the transparency of agencies' budget justifications by
providing additional details and information. [Footnote 25] For
example, in our September 2012 review of the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs' (VA) health care budget, we concluded that federal
agencies' congressional budget justifications should be transparent--
that is, they should be clear and easy to understand--in part because
Congress relies on this information to make resource allocation
decisions and conduct oversight.[Footnote 26] Further, we concluded
that in order to facilitate decision making, information needs to be
clear and organized in a way that is meaningful to decision makers. We
recommended, among other things, that VA further consult with
congressional decision makers to determine what detailed information
related to its appropriations accounts should be included--and how--in
its congressional budget justification. VA concurred with the
recommendations and has begun taking actions to address them.
Institution Security and Inmate Care Constitute the Majority of BOP's
Salaries and Expenses Account Costs as Presented in Its Budget
Justifications:
BOP's largest account--its S&E account--is composed mainly of costs
associated with Inmate Care and Programs and Institution Security and
Administration, both of which have grown steadily since 2008,
predominantly because of increases in prison populations, which are
the primary cost driver of BOP's budget.[Footnote 27] The other two
PPAs in the S&E account are associated with the care and custody of
federal offenders in contract facilities and maintenance and
administration.[Footnote 28] BOP's budget justification for fiscal
year 2014 reflected the President's budget request of a total of $6.9
billion, including $6.8 billion for its S&E account.[Footnote 29]
Figure 2 shows that the President's budget request for BOP's S&E
account has increased from fiscal years 2008 through 2014.[Footnote 30]
Figure 2: President's Budget Requests for Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Salaries and Expenses Account for Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014:
[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph]
Fiscal year: 2008: $5.1 billion.
Fiscal year: 2009: $5.4 billion.
Fiscal year: 2010: $6 billion.
Fiscal year: 2011: $6.5 billion.
Fiscal year: 2012: $6.7 billion.
Fiscal year: 2013: $6.8 billion.
Fiscal year: 2014: $6.8 billion.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP’s annual congressional budget
justifications.
Note: The dollar amounts are rounded to the nearest $0.1 billion.
[End of figure]
BOP's budget justification includes its proposed use of funds for each
account by PPA.[Footnote 31] BOP's budget for S&E costs consists of
four PPAs, and as shown in figure 3, the Inmate Care and Programs PPA,
and Institution Security and Administration PPA, and Contract
Confinement PPA accounted for about 97 percent of the President's 2014
budget request for BOP's S&E account, according to BOP's budget
justification.
Figure 3: The President's Budget Request for the Bureau of Prisons'
(BOP) Salaries and Expenses Account by Program, Project, or Activity
Elements for Fiscal Year 2014:
[Refer to PDF for image: pie-chart]
Institution security and administration: 44%: $2,995,794,000;
Inmate care and programs: 37%: $2,509,802,000;
Contract confinement: 16%: $1,114,532,000;
Management and administration: 3%: $211,022,000.
Source: BOP’s fiscal year 2014 Performance Congressional Budget
Justification.
[End of figure]
Below is a description of the four PPAs that compose BOP's S&E account.
* The Inmate Care and Programs PPA covers the operational costs of
functions directly related to providing inmate care, including inmate
food, medical care, drug treatment, and psychological services;
education and vocational training; institutional and release clothing;
welfare service; and transportation. For example, the budget
justification for fiscal year 2014 proposes the use of funds to help
address increases in chronic medical care for inmates. Additionally,
the budget justification for fiscal year 2014 proposes the use of
funds to expand evidence-based treatment practices to treat drug
offenders and reduce recidivism.[Footnote 32]
* The Institution Security and Administration PPA covers costs
associated with institution security, administration, maintenance, and
staff training.[Footnote 33] These costs include salaries for
correctional officers assigned to every BOP institution and expenses
for facility maintenance and utilities.
* The Contract Confinement PPA covers costs associated with BOP
inmates in contract care and costs associated with management and
oversight of contract facilities and residential reentry centers as
well as the National Institute of Corrections.[Footnote 34]
* The Management and Administration PPA covers costs associated with
general administration and provides funding for the executive staff as
well as headquarters and regional office program managers in the areas
of budget development and execution, financial management, procurement
and property management, human resource management, inmate systems
management, safety, legal counsel, research and evaluation, and
systems support.
As shown in figure 4, while the amounts reflected for BOP's Management
and Administration PPA have remained relatively constant, the Inmate
Care and Programs and Institution Security and Administration PPAs,
and to a lesser extent the Contract Confinement PPA, have grown
steadily since 2008, predominantly because of increases in prison
populations which are the primary cost driver of BOP's budget.
[Footnote 35]
Figure 4: Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Budget Justification by Program,
Project, and Activity Element for Salaries and Expenses Account for
Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014:
[Refer to PDF for image: multiple line graph]
Fiscal year: 2008;
Institution security and administration: $2,329,757;
Inmate care and programs: $1,810,882;
Contract refinement: $825,442;
Management and administration: $185,359.
Fiscal year: 2009;
Institution security and administration: $2,414,420;
Inmate care and programs: $1,922,700;
Contract refinement: $897,468;
Management and administration: $201,166.
Fiscal year: 2010;
Institution security and administration: $2,676,260;
Inmate care and programs: $2,207,730;
Contract refinement: $895,353;
Management and administration: $200,485.
Fiscal year: 2011;
Institution security and administration: $2,930,670;
Inmate care and programs: $2,382,820;
Contract refinement: $1,010,320;
Management and administration: $209.971.
Fiscal year: 2012;
Institution security and administration: $2,988,560;
Inmate care and programs: $2,479,310;
Contract refinement: $1,034,200;
Management and administration: $222,193.
Fiscal year: 2013;
Institution security and administration: $2,984,830;
Inmate care and programs: $2,542,060;
Contract refinement: $1,088,750;
Management and administration: $204,572.
Fiscal year: 2014;
Institution security and administration: $2,995,794;
Inmate care and programs: $2,509,802;
Contract refinement: $1,114,532;
Management and administration: $211,022.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP’s annual congressional budget
justifications for fiscal years 2008 through 2014, and BOP budget data.
[End of figure]
In addition to the budget justification broken down by PPA dollar
amounts, the budget justification provides a summary of increases
(i.e., improvements) and decreases (i.e., offsets) to the current
year's appropriation.[Footnote 36] For example, in BOP's budget
justification for fiscal year 2014, BOP described the $35.1 million
net increase (1.2 percent) in the Institution Security and
Administration PPA from fiscal year 2013 in terms of three increases
and two decreases, as shown in table 1. Further, BOP described the
dollar amounts associated with the $1.7 million (0.07 percent) net
increase in the Inmate Care and Programs PPA from fiscal year 2013 in
terms of five increases and two decreases.
Table 1: Proposed Improvements and Offsets in the Bureau of Prisons'
(BOP) Inmate Care and Programs and Institution Security and
Administration Programs, Projects, and Activities Elements for Fiscal
Year 2014:
Salaries: Institution Security and Administration;
Expenses: $2,995,794,000.
Salaries: Net Program Improvements and Offsets;
Expenses: +$35,134,000.
Salaries: 1. Improvement: Open Administrative United States
Penitentiary Thompson, IL;
Expenses: +$28,504,000.
Salaries: 2. Improvement: Open Facility Hazelton, WV;
Expenses: +$15,910,000.
Salaries: 3. Improvement: Open Facility Yazoo City, MS;
Expenses: +$17,406,000.
Salaries: 4. Offset: Good Conduct Time[A];
Expenses: -$22,455,000.
Salaries: 5. Offset: Information Technology Savings;
Expenses: -$4,231,000.
Salaries: Inmate Care and Programs;
Expenses: $2,509,802,000.
Salaries: Net Program Improvements and Offsets;
Expenses: +$1,738,000.
Salaries: 6. Improvement: Open Administrative Thomson, IL;
Expenses: +$15,196,000.
Salaries: 7. Improvement: Open Facility Hazelton, WV;
Expenses: +$9,072,000.
Salaries: 8. Improvement: Open Facility Yazoo City, MS;
Expenses: +$11,015,000.
Salaries: 9. Improvement: Expand Residential Drug Abuse Treatment;
Expenses: +$15,000,000.
Salaries: 10. Improvement: Expand Reentry/Recidivism Reducing
Programs;
Expenses: +$20,000,000.
Salaries: 11. Offset: Good Conduct Time[A];
Expenses: -$18,545,000.
Salaries: 12. Offset: Medical Cost Adjustments;
Expenses: -$50,000,000.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP's fiscal year 2014 budget justification.
[A] Offsets related to Good Conduct Time refer to potential savings
related to proposed legislation. Specifically, according to BOP's
fiscal year 2014 budget justification ,the administration has proposed
legislation to amend federal inmate good conduct time credit to
provide inmates incentives that encourage positive behavior. The
proposed sentencing reforms include (1) an increase in the amount of
credit an inmate can earn for good behavior, and (2) a new sentence
reduction credit, which inmates can earn for participation in
education and vocational programming.
[End of table]
BOP also provides narrative summaries of its initiatives, services,
and organizational units in categories and subcategories under each
PPA.[Footnote 37] BOP officials said that they include these narrative
descriptions to provide additional information to congressional
decision makers. Figure 5 provides an example of the structure of the
budget justification reflecting categories and subcategories for which
BOP provided narrative descriptions to support its justification for
the four PPA elements under the S&E account in fiscal year's 2014
congressional budget justification.
Figure 5: Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Budget Justification Structure:
[Refer to PDF for image: table]
Fiscal year 2014 salaries and expenses:
Inmate care and programs: $2,509,802,000;
Categories[A] including:
* Medical services;
* Food service;
* Education and vocational training;
* Psychology services;
* Drug abuse treatment;
* Religious services;
Subcategories that provide additional narrative detail such as:
* Medical referral centers;
* Drug abuse education;
* Sex offender management programs.
Institution security and administration: $2,995,794,000;
Categories[A] including:
* Sentry Information System;
* Correctional officers;
* Inmate disciplinary process;
* Administrative segregation;
* Facility maintenance;
* Physical plant;
Staff training academy;
Subcategories that provide additional narrative detail such as:
* Internal security;
* External security.
Contract confinement: $1,114,532,000;
Categories[A] such as:
* The Community Corrections and Detention Services Branch;
* The Privatization Management Branch;
* National Institute of Corrections.
Management and administration: $211,022,000;
Categories[A] such as:
* Central Office and Other Functions;
* Correctional Programs Division;
* Health Services Division;
Subcategories that provide additional narrative detail such as:
* Psychology Services Branch;
* Occupational & Employee Health Section.
[A] BOP does not identify proposed funding amounts for all categories
and subcategories in its budget justification.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP information.
[End of figure]
BOP Could Enhance the Transparency of Its Budget Justification by
Providing Additional Data on Cost Components within the Program,
Project, and Activity Levels:
We found that BOP is collecting more detailed quantitative cost data
on the components that constitute each PPA, which could be useful to
congressional decision makers when reviewing BOP's budget
justification. In accordance with departmental and OMB guidance, BOP's
budget justifications summarize amounts by PPA, so BOP is not required
to provide additional funding data below the PPA level in its budget
justification. Providing more comprehensive information could help
clarify BOP's proposed spending on specific categories and
subcategories reflected in its budget justification. For example,
BOP's budget justification for fiscal year 2014 included $2.5 billion
for the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element and included narrative
information for categories such as Medical Services, Food Service,
Education and Occupational Training, Psychology Services, and
Religious Services, as well as narrative summaries for various
subcategories, but did not include proposed funding amounts for these
categories. Our analysis shows that this additional information can be
useful in identifying trends and cost drivers that may affect future
costs, which could be particularly helpful given the 33 percent growth
in BOP's budget request from fiscal years 2008 through 2014.
Our prior work has identified factors driving BOP's cost increases in
specific categories that constitute each PPA. For example, in July
2013, we found that per capita mental health services costs have
increased in BOP-operated institutions since fiscal year 2008 and are
expected to continue to increase. Further, we found that these
increases were generally due to three factors--inmate population
increases, general inflationary increases, and increased inmate
participation rates in psychology treatment programs.[Footnote 38] As
we reported in July 2013, BOP's expanded inmate participation in its
Residential Drug Abuse Program, which helped reduce waiting lists for
the program, had increased overall program costs.[Footnote 39] In
addition, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported in January
2013 that BOP's expenditures on utilities, food, and medical care have
generally increased each fiscal year since 2000, although the per
capita increase in the cost of food and utilities has not been as
pronounced as the increase in the per capita cost of inmate medical
care.[Footnote 40] CRS reported that BOP officials said conditions
such as diabetes, hypertension, and infectious diseases have a
slightly higher rate of incidence in the incarcerated population.
Thus, understanding the differences in costs for medical care, food
services, and drug programs--three of the cost components within the
Inmate Care PPA--could help congressional decision makers evaluate how
these trends may affect future costs.
We met with staff from the authorizing and appropriations committees
to obtain their views on the adequacy of BOP's budget justification
and these staff had mixed views. While some staff said that they were
generally satisfied with the amount of information BOP provided
concerning its budget, others said that BOP's budget justification
lacked transparency and that they would benefit from receiving
additional quantitative information on estimated amounts below the PPA
elements. They said that receiving more detailed information from BOP
on an as-needed basis would be helpful. In addition, congressional
decision makers have previously requested additional information about
BOP's budget presentations and, in particular, data below the PPA
level. For example, the conference report accompanying the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010,[Footnote 41] stated that BOP's
fiscal year 2011 budget request should provide detailed descriptions
of the major categories of activities composing each decision unit and
the proposed funding levels for each such category, including
comparisons to prior year obligations for each category.[Footnote 42]
Our analysis of FMIS data shows that BOP is capturing detailed
information on the cost components within the PPAs, which BOP is not
currently providing in its budget justifications. For example, for the
Inmate Care and Programs PPA, food service, psychology services, and
religious services are three categories reflected in the budget
justification that have comparable FMIS cost component data fields.
However, the budget justification provides narrative descriptions that
do not have comparable cost component data for these three categories,
which DOJ captures in FMIS. According to BOP officials, while they use
the historical cost data in FMIS to inform their budget development
process, the FMIS cost component data fields are not always directly
linked to specific narrative categories in the budget justification
for BOP because they use their judgment to identify categories that
they consider to be of specific interest to congressional decision
makers (e.g., dollar amounts, trends, or policy concerns) rather than
standardized cost components. For example, BOP includes narrative in
the budget justification to describe costs related to categories such
as Medical Services and Food Service, among others. As figure 6 shows,
there are similarities in the FMIS data fields for which BOP captures
detailed cost information and those categories BOP uses to describe
its budget justifications. This additional information could provide
congressional decision makers with additional insights into factors
driving BOP's budget.
Figure 6: Categories in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Budget
Justification for Fiscal Year 2014 for Inmate Care and Programs and
Institution Security and Administration Program, Project, and Activity
(PPA) Elements Compared with Cost Center Data Fields in the Department
of Justice's (DOJ) Financial Management Information System (FMIS):
[Refer to PDF for image: lists]
Categories with narrative description in BOP’s 2014 budget
justification:
Inmate care and programs PPA:
* Medical services;
* Food service;
* Education and occupational training;
* Psychology services;
* Religious services;
* Drug abuse treatment.
Institution security and administration PPA:
* Facility maintenance;
* Staff training academy.
* Correctional officers;
* Inmate disciplinary process;
* Administrative segregation;
* Physical plant;
* Sentry Information System.
Data fields in BOP’s FMIS with quantitative cost information[A]:
Inmate care and programs PPA:
* Medical services;
* Food service;
* Education and occupational training;
* Psychology services;
* Religious services;
* Drug abuse treatment;
* Unit management;
* Inmate services.
Institution security and administration PPA:
* Institution maintenance;
* Staff training academy;
* Institution security;
* Institution administration.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP data.
[A] For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms "category" and
"subcategory" to describe the structure of BOP's budget justification,
and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe BOP's
initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed
to the use of the terms "category "and "subcategory" as a way to
describe the organization of their budget justification.
[End of figure]
While BOP does not provide in its budget justifications information on
the cost components composing each PPA, BOP officials already capture
this information, using data from FMIS, as part of their annual budget
development process. We requested specific, quantitative information
below the PPA level and BOP provided us with dollar amounts associated
with the data fields in FMIS that constitute Inmate Care and Programs,
Institution Security and Administration, and Contract Confinement PPAs
for fiscal years 2008 through 2014. Using the additional detailed
information from DOJ's FMIS provided by BOP budget officials, we were
able to identify changes over time in the cost components composing
each PPA, which is information congressional decision makers could use
when reviewing BOP's budget justification. For example, we analyzed
changes in the dollar amounts associated with FMIS cost component data
fields that make up the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element over
time. The results of our analysis show that BOP's proposed spending
for the Inmate Care and Programs PPA has continually increased from
fiscal years 2008 through 2013; however, BOP's FMIS data showed
variations in the dollar amounts associated with the cost components
that constitute the PPA. For example, changes in dollar amounts for
medical services have increased by about 50 percent from fiscal years
2008 to 2014, and decreased slightly for the 2 most recent fiscal
years--2013 and 2014. According to officials, the changes in dollar
amounts reflect changes in the prison population and implementation of
policy initiatives intended to lower costs. The results of our
analysis are presented in figure 7. The specific dollar amounts by
fiscal year for the cost components composing the Inmate Care and
Program PPA element are provided in appendix I.
Figure 7: Changes in Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of Prisons'
(BOP) Financial Management Information System (FMIS) Data Fields for
the Inmate Care and Programs' Program, Project, and Activity (PPA)
from Fiscal Years 2008 through 2014:
[Refer to PDF for image: multiple line graph]
Fiscal year: 2008;
Religious services: $39 million;
Psychology services: $60 million;
Laundry services: $65 million;
Drug treatment: $67 million;
Education: $115 million;
Unit management: $330 million;
Food services: $471 million;
Medical program: $665 million.
Fiscal year: 2009;
Religious services: $40 million;
Psychology services: $53 million;
Laundry services: $61 million;
Drug treatment: $69 million;
Education: $118 million;
Unit management: $347 million;
Food services: $468 million;
Medical program: $767 million.
Fiscal year: 2010;
Religious services: $47 million;
Psychology services: $63 million;
Laundry services: $63 million;
Drug treatment: $81 million;
Education: $138 million;
Unit management: $375 million;
Food services: $560 million;
Medical program: $881 million.
Fiscal year: 2011;
Religious services: $47 million;
Psychology services: $61 million;
Laundry services: $73 million;
Drug treatment: $94 million;
Education: $141 million;
Unit management: $415 million;
Food services: $563 million;
Medical program: $990 million.
Fiscal year: 2012;
Religious services: $47 million;
Psychology services: $74 million;
Laundry services: $69 million;
Drug treatment: $109 million;
Education: $150 million;
Unit management: $430 million;
Food services: $551 million;
Medical program: $1.05 billion.
Fiscal year: 2013;
Religious services: $52 million;
Psychology services: $68 million;
Laundry services: $76 million;
Drug treatment: $109 million;
Education: $161 million;
Unit management: $408 million;
Food services: $621 million;
Medical program: $1.048 billion.
Fiscal year: 2014;
Religious services: $46 million;
Psychology services: $66 million;
Laundry services: $88 million;
Drug treatment: $115 million;
Education: $152 million;
Unit management: $435 million;
Food services: $610 million;
Medical program: $998 million.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP budget data.
Note: The dollar amounts associated with FMIS data fields in this
figure represent BOP's available funding information used to develop
justification data for the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element. BOP
officials stated that they maintain funding data for laundry services
using the Inmate Services FMIS data field. BOP officials also noted
that they include historical information in its budget justification
for costs of inmate medical and food services.
[End of figure]
In addition, using the additional cost component information, our
analysis of BOP's FMIS data fields showed that changes in dollars
associated with the budget justification for drug abuse treatment have
increased by over 70 percent from fiscal years 2008 to 2014, and from
fiscal years 2010 through 2012 increased by more than 15 percent each
year--which reflects BOP's efforts to expand its drug treatment
services. While trends in the dollar amounts associated with medical
care and drug treatment reflect a relatively significant increase from
fiscal years 2008 to 2014, changes in the dollar amounts associated
with food and religious services remained relatively constant for this
same time frame.
Our analysis of BOP's FMIS data also showed the proportion of dollars
associated with the FMIS data fields that compose each PPA element.
For example, we found that for fiscal year 2014, institution security
constituted over 50 percent of the funding based on cost components
that compose the Institution Security and Administration PPA element.
(See figure 8.) In addition, we found that for this same time frame,
medical program composed 40 percent of the funding for the Inmate Care
and Programs PPA element, and private prison contracts made up over 60
percent of funding for the Contract Confinement PPA element. (See
figs. 9 and 10) For additional details on each of the narrative
categories, see appendix II. In an era of scarce federal resources and
given BOP's projected growth in inmate population and substantial
increased costs in recent years, this additional detail could be
helpful to congressional decision makers when reviewing BOP's budget
justification and making determinations about where to increase or
decrease BOP funding.
Figure 8: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Institution Security and
Administration Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with
Funding Amounts Associated with Data Fields in the Financial
Management Information System (FMIS):
[Refer to PDF for image: 2 pie-charts with associated data]
Information presented in BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification
for Institution Security and Administration PPA:
Institution Security and Administration:
Current services: $2,960,660,000;
Program increases: +$61,820,000;
Program offsets: -$26,686,000;
Total request: $2,995,794,000;
Current services: 99%;
Net increase: 1%.
Funding categories[A]:
Sentry Information System;
Correctional officers;
Inmate disciplinary process;
Administrative segregation;
Facility maintenance;
Physical plant;
Staff training academy.
Narrative summary[B]: Sentry Information System:
Each inmate is tracked through BOP’s Sentry Information System.
Offenders are assigned a security and custody status, which relates to
the degree of supervision needed and ensures that offenders are placed
in the least restrictive and least costly correctional environment
appropriate to their custody and security level needs. The result is a
grouping of offenders with similar custodial needs in an institution,
and a relative reduction in the mixing of aggressive and nonaggressive
offenders.
Additional funding data associated with FMIS data fields for
Institution Security and Administration PPA for fiscal year 2014:
FMIS data fields:
Institution maintenance: $734,746,000;
Institution security: $1,614,067,000;
Institution administration: $610,102,000;
Staff training: $36,879,000;
Total: $2,995,794,000.
Institution security: 54%;
Institution maintenance: 25%;
Institution administration: 20%;
Staff training: 1%.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP budget data.
[A] For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms "category" and
"subcategory" to describe the structure of BOP's budget justification,
and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe BOP's
initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed
to the use of the terms "category "and "subcategory" as a way to
describe the organization of their budget justification.
[B] The figure reflects an example of the type of information provided
in BOP's narrative summaries for its funding categories. For more
details on narrative summaries for the other funding categories listed,
see appendix II.
[End of figure]
Figure 9: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Inmate Care and Programs
Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts
Associated with Data Fields in the Financial Management Information
System (FMIS):
[Refer to PDF for image: 2 pie-charts with associated data]
Information presented in BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification
for Inmate Care and Programs PPA:
Inmate Care and Programs:
Current services: $2,508,064,000;
Program increases: +$70,283,000;
Program offsets: -$68,545,000;
Total request: $2,509,802,000.
Current services: 99%;
Net increase: 1%.
Funding categories[A]:
Medical services (inmate health care);
Food service;
Educational and occupational training;
Psychology services;
Drug abuse treatment;
Religious services.
Narrative summary[B]: Medical services (inmate health care):
All BOP institutions operate outpatient ambulatory care clinics. These
clinics provide a range of outpatient services to inmates similar to
those provided by ambulatory clinics found in most communities, i.e.,
primary health care. The clinics serve as the first level of
diagnostic and treatment services to sentenced and pre-sentenced
inmates. All Health Services programs and operations are subject to
internal review (Program Review) and must maintain accreditation by
the American Correctional Association. Each institution is also
required to provide data to the Health Services Division (HSD) in the
form of outcome measures for a variety of clinical conditions (HIV,
hypertension, diabetes, etc.).
Additional funding data associated with FMIS data fields for Inmate
Care and Programs PPA for fiscal year 2014:
FMIS data fields:
Medical program: $997,525,000;
Food services: $435,489,000;
Drug treatment: $115,452,000;
Unit management: $610,092,000;
Education: $151,630,000;
Religious services: $45,609,000;
Psychology services: $65,701,000;
Laundry services: $88,304,000;
Total: $2,509,802,000.
Medical program: 40%;
Unit management: 24%;
Food services: 17%;
Education: 6%;
Drug treatment: 5%;
Laundry services: 4%;
Psychology services: 3%;
Religious services: 2%.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP budget data.
Notes: Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.
[A] For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms "category" and
"subcategory" to describe the structure of BOP's budget justification,
and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe BOP's
initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed
to the use of the terms "category "and "subcategory" as a way to
describe the organization of their budget justification.
[B] The figure reflects an example of the type of information provided
in BOP's narrative summaries for its funding categories. For more
details on narrative summaries for the other funding categories
listed, see appendix II.
[End of figure]
Figure 10: Comparison of Information in the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification for Contract Confinement
Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Element with Funding Amounts
Associated with Data Fields in the Financial Management Information
System (FMIS):
[Refer to PDF for image: 2 pie-charts with associated data]
Information presented in BOP’s fiscal year 2014 budget justification
for Contract Confinement PPA:
Contract Confinement PPA:
Current services: $1,082,300,000;
Program increases: +$32,232,000;
Program offsets: -$0;
Total request: $1,114,532,000.
Current services: 97%;
Net increase: 3%.
Funding categories[A]:
Community Corrections and Detention Services Branch;
Privatization Management Branch;
National Institute of Corrections.
Narrative summary[B]: Privatization Management Branch:
Responsible for coordinating the BOP’s efforts in managing a growing
population of nearly 29,000 inmates located in contractor-operated
secure correctional facilities. Staff from this branch oversee the
management and operation of facilities, develop new requirements;
establish policy and procedures; develop and manage contract budgets;
and serve as liaisons between the contractors and BOP and other
members of the federal family.
Additional funding data associated with FMIS data fields for Contract
Confinement PPA for fiscal year 2014:
FMIS data fields:
Management: $32,306,000;
Private prison contracts: $720,168,000;
State and local contracts: $42,215,000;
Residential reentry centers: $319,843,000;
Total: $1,114,532,000.
Private prison contracts: 65%;
Residential reentry centers: 29%;
State and local contracts: 4%;
Management: 3%.
Source: GAO analysis of BOP budget data.
Notes: Percentages may not equal 100 because of rounding.
[A] For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms "category" and
"subcategory" to describe the structure of BOP's annual budget
submission, and although BOP officials did not use these terms to
describe BOP's initiatives, services, and organizational units, they
generally agreed to the use of the terms "category "and "subcategory"
as a way to describe the organization of their budget justification.
[B] The figure reflects an example of the type of information provided
in BOP's narrative summaries for its funding categories. For more
details on narrative summaries for the other funding categories listed,
see appendix II.
[End of figure]
According to DOJ's Fiscal Years 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, one of the
department's guiding principles is to promote transparency,
performance, and accountability, including budget
transparency.[Footnote 43] According to the plan, the department and
its components will continue to promote budget transparency,
performance, and accessibility by coordinating with leadership and
regularly reporting accomplishments, among other actions. Further,
according to federal financial accounting standards, cost information
can be used by Congress in making policy decisions about allocating
federal resources among programs, authorizing and modifying programs,
evaluating program performance, and making program authorization
decisions by assessing costs and benefits.[Footnote 44]
BOP officials stated that they use historical cost information that
BOP maintains in DOJ's FMIS for budget execution and monitoring as an
input to inform the annual budget development process. Specifically,
budget development staff use data from the previous 3-year period for
cost components in FMIS and adjust the funding levels based on
projected changes in prison population and other factors to help them
estimate the total funding needs for the future fiscal year by PPA.
BOP officials further stated that they regularly provide additional
information upon request on the budget justification to staff from
congressional appropriations and congressional authorizing committees.
For example, they said that JMD officials provide appropriators with
funding information in response to requests for various congressional
reports and hearings, as well as written responses to congressional
inquiries related to the budget justification. To further clarify
their budget justification to Congress and OMB, they said they have
taken other steps, such as conducting tours of prison facilities with
congressional and OMB stakeholders to demonstrate conditions and the
basis for the President's budget request.
BOP's efforts to provide information upon request may meet some
congressional committee needs; however, the additional information on
projected costs would provide more detail on the cost drivers
affecting the President's request for BOP and therefore facilitate
congressional decision making. BOP officials reported spending a total
of 40 staff hours to compile and analyze the quantitative information
below the PPA level in order to recreate the historical quantitative
information for the prior fiscal years. Thus, given that BOP already
captures and has readily available this quantitative information below
the PPA level as part of its annual budget development process,
providing this more detailed information to congressional decision
makers could facilitate congressional decision making by providing a
more comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting BOP's budget
and driving budget increases below the PPA elements. Consulting with
congressional decision makers to determine if it would be helpful to
include this information in its annual budget justification would help
provide reasonable assurance that BOP is fully meeting congressional
stakeholders' needs.
Conclusions:
According to BOP officials, BOP's biggest challenges are managing the
continually increasing federal inmate population while providing for
inmates' care and safety, as well as the safety of BOP staff and
surrounding communities, within budgeted levels. BOP officials project
continuing inmate population growth and estimate increases in funding
needs for the foreseeable future. Consultation with congressional
decision makers could help BOP identify what additional information,
if any, is needed, such as providing more comprehensive detailed
information on projected costs using data already gathered by BOP.
This could enhance the transparency of BOP's budget justification and
the President's budget request and better inform congressional
decision making.
Recommendation for Executive Action:
To enhance the transparency of BOP's cost information as presented in
DOJ's annual congressional budget justifications, we recommend that
the Attorney General consult with congressional decision makers on
providing additional BOP funding detail below the PPA level in future
budget justifications, and in conjunction with BOP, provide the data
as appropriate.
Agency Comments:
We provided a draft of the report to DOJ for comment. The department
did not provide official written comments to include in our report.
However, in an e-mail on November 21, the DOJ liaison stated that DOJ
concurred with our recommendation. DOJ and BOP also provided technical
comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the selected congressional
committees, the Attorney General, and the Director of BOP, and other
interested parties. In addition, this report is available at no charge
on the GAO website at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff have any further questions about this report,
please contact me at (202) 512-9627 or MaurerD@gao.gov. Contact points
for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be
found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report
are listed in appendix III.
Signed by:
David C. Maurer:
Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues:
List of Requesters:
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley:
Ranking Member:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Tom A. Coburn, M.D.
Ranking Member:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
United States Senate:
The Honorable John Cornyn:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Michael S. Lee:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate:
The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman:
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and
Investigations:
Committee on the Judiciary:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Jason Chaffetz:
Committee on the Judiciary:
House of Representatives:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Dollar Amounts Associated with Bureau of Prisons' Budget
Request Financial Management Information System (FMIS) Data Fields for
Inmate Care and Programs:
Medical program;
2008: $664,650,000;
2009: $776,768,000;
2010: $881,271,000;
2011: $989,611,000;
2012: $1,049,803,000;
2013: $1,047,842,000;
2014: $997,525,000.
Food services;
2008: $330,026,000;
2009: $346,715,000;
2010: $374,704,000;
2011: $414,675,000;
2012: $430,234,000;
2013: $407,556,000;
2014: $435,489,000.
Drug treatment;
2008: $67,156,000;
2009: $69,171,000;
2010: $80,784,000;
2011: $93,508,000;
2012: $108,508,000;
2013: $109,313,000;
2014: $115,452,000.
Unit management;
2008: $470,970,000;
2009: $468,029,000;
2010: $560,354,000;
2011: $562,789,000;
2012: $551,150,000;
2013: $620,722,000;
2014: $610,092,000.
Education;
2008: $114,551,000;
2009: $118,122,000;
2010: $137,529,000;
2011: $140,525,000;
2012: $149,587,000;
2013: $160,684,000;
2014: $151,630,000.
Religious Services;
2008: $38,676,000;
2009: $40,089,000;
2010: $47,005,000;
2011: $47,003,000;
2012: $47,339,000;
2013: $51,810,000;
2014: $45,609,000.
Psychology services;
2008: $60,351,000;
2009: $53,050,000;
2010: $63,039,000;
2011: $61,341,000;
2012: $73,986,000;
2013: $67,676,000;
2014: $65,701,000.
Laundry Services[B];
2008: $64,502,000;
2009: $60,757,000;
2010: $63,043,000;
2011: $73,368,000;
2012: $68,706,000;
2013: $76,461,000;
2014: $88,304,000.
Total inmate programs;
2008: $1,810,882,000;
2009: $1,922,701,000;
2010: $2,207,729,000;
2011: $2,382,820,000;
2012: $2,479,313,000;
2013: $2,542,064,000;
2014: $2,509,802,000.
Source: BOP.
Notes: For fiscal years 2008 and 2009, BOP officials incorporated
Management and Administration (M&A) costs into the other PPA elements
in the Salaries & Expenses (S&E) and Buildings & Facilities (B&F)
accounts. Therefore, the funding data in this appendix exclude dollar
amounts associated for M&A for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
[A] According to BOP officials, they analyzed the funding data they
collected for the following data fields in the Financial Management
Information System to inform the amounts requested for each PPA,
including the Inmate Care and Programs PPA element.
[B] BOP officials stated that they maintain funding data for laundry
services using the Inmate Services FMIS data field.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix II: Narrative Summaries for Institution Security and
Administration, Inmate Care and Programs, and Contract Confinement in
the Bureau of Prisons' Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Justification:
Institution security and administration:
Funding categories[A]: Sentry Information System;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: Each
inmate is tracked through BOP's SENTRY Information System. Offenders
are assigned a security and custody status, which relates to the
degree of supervision needed and ensures that offenders are placed in
the least restrictive and least costly correctional environment
appropriate to their custody and security-level needs. The result is a
grouping of offenders with similar custodial needs in an institution,
and a relative reduction in the mixing of aggressive and nonaggressive
offenders.
Funding categories[A]: Correctional Officers;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: Within
each institution, correctional officers are assigned to security posts
that are primarily established on the basis of structural/visual
considerations. The two basic categories of security are external
security and internal security. External security consists of a walled
or fenced perimeter supplemented by staffed security towers and armed
mobile perimeter patrols. There is also razor wire strung between a
double fence with high mast lighting to illuminate the perimeter and
highly technical equipment such as alarm systems and video
surveillance. Entrances through the perimeter are controlled by a
series of gates, both electrical and manual, supplemented by metal
detection systems and search procedures for weapon and contraband
control. BOP has fully incorporated closed circuit television
technology in its higher-security facilities, which has enhanced
supervision and provides valuable intelligence in the management of
federal inmates. For practical purposes, all other security measures,
processes, and activities can be called internal security, commencing
when an inmate is admitted and terminating upon his or her release.
Staff supervise inmates in living units, work areas, visiting areas,
dining halls, and any other area where inmates may be located or have
access. Regularly scheduled counts are conducted several times a day
(five on weekdays, six on weekends) in all institutions to monitor the
whereabouts of inmates. Work supervisors and program personnel are
held strictly accountable for all inmates under their supervision.
Funding categories[A]: Inmate Disciplinary Process;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries:
Violations of institution regulations are dealt with through the
Inmate Disciplinary Process. Correctional staff members conduct
investigations of the alleged misconduct and forward the findings to
the Unit Discipline Committee. Depending on the seriousness of the
charge, the Unit Discipline Committee will make a finding, or refer
the report to the Discipline Hearing Officer for disposition. When
practical, inmates are afforded the opportunity to participate in, and
present evidence at a due process hearing before findings are made.
Inmates may appeal these decisions utilizing the administrative remedy
process.
Funding categories[A]: Administrative Segregation;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: The
Administrative Segregation program provides for the separation of
inmates who require closer supervision and monitoring from those in
the general population. Such cases include, but are not limited to,
protective custody, serious escape risks, threats to the security and
orderly running of the institution. The Disciplinary Segregation
program provides for segregation of offenders who have been found
guilty of violations of rules through the Inmate Disciplinary Process.
Funding categories[A]: Facility Maintenance;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: The
Facility Maintenance program is designed to adequately maintain and
continue to safely operate the physical plants of BOP institutions.
Facilities vary in age from those recently constructed to those 100 or
more years old. Thirty-four of the BOP facilities are over 50 years
old. As of January 2013, BOP facilities are situated on 46,030 acres
of land and contain approximately 63.4 million square feet of floor
area, all of which must be maintained and furnished with utility
services. Each institution maintains communication systems including
complete private automatic branch exchange telephone systems, radio
systems including base station and mobile units, and several
electronic detection and control systems.
Complex heating and air conditioning systems, high-pressure steam power
plants, sophisticated hospital equipment, emergency electrical power
systems and fire protection, and life safety systems all require
regular maintenance. Despite energy-saving initiatives, discussed
earlier in the budget, the growing inmate population and inflationary
factors have significantly increased utility costs.
Funding categories[A]: Physical Plant;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: Physical
plant requirements are identified through regular inspections
conducted in the ongoing preventive maintenance program, formal
semiannual inspections, and requests for specific needs identified by
institution staff members. This program finances maintenance and minor
improvement projects that normally cost $10,000 or less. However,
there are policy guidelines that allow funding of maintenance projects
(work requests) costing more than $10,000 in certain circumstances.
Some exceptions would include emergencies or security threats such as
hurricanes or disturbances. Maintenance and repair requirements in
excess of $10,000 are normally included in the Modernization and
Repair program of the Buildings and Facilities budget.
The work within the maintenance program is accomplished almost
entirely by inmate crews under staff supervision. Each work crew
consists of a staff foreman and 10 to 20 inmates. Each institution must
have highly skilled staff with experience and training in every phase
of construction and maintenance work including steam fitting, air
conditioning, mechanics, or electronics repair. A few specific jobs are
contracted out because special skills or equipment items are required,
or because the work may be extremely dangerous. Examples of these jobs
include elevator inspection and repair, radio frequency alignment, and
water tower painting.
Funding categories[A]: Staff Training Academy;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: The
Staff Training Academy (STA) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia, provides introductory and advanced
correctional training for BOP law enforcement staff. The Introduction
to Correctional Techniques (ICT) program is a 5-week program for a
total of 159 hours of instruction that is taught in two phases. Phase
I consists of 2-weeks of training at the institution, and Phase II
consists of a 3-week training program at the STA. The STA oversees the
curriculum development and administration of the 2-week (56-hour) ICT
Phase I course provided at all institutions for new employees prior to
attending the ICT Phase II course at the STA. The ICT Phase II is a 3-
week (103-hour) program of instruction that covers hostage situations,
ethics, interpersonal communication skills, special offenders,
diversity, inmate discipline, legal procedures, and so forth.
Successful completion of this program (academics, firearms, and the
Physical Ability Test) is required for continued employment of newly
hired staff entering into law enforcement positions. In fiscal year
2012, 2,279 new employees participated in 60 classes of the ICT
program. The STA provided advanced correctional skills training for
trainers in disturbance control, firearms, bus operations, self-
defense, and side-handle baton in fiscal year 2012. The STA also
provides advanced correctional training for Marksman/Observer and
Witness Security Escort. The majority of the advanced training
programs are conducted at BOP institutions, resulting in substantial
cost avoidance in training costs.
Inmate care and programs:
Funding categories[A]: Medical Services (Inmate Health Care);
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: All BOP
institutions operate outpatient ambulatory care clinics. These clinics
provide a range of outpatient services to inmates similar to those
provided by ambulatory clinics found in most communities, that is,
primary health care. The clinics serve as the first level of
diagnostic and treatment services to sentenced and presentenced
inmates. New institutions are typically given 2 years after activation
to obtain accreditation from the Joint Commission. Care Level I
institutions are not required to achieve or maintain this
accreditation because they predominantly house healthy inmate
populations. All Health Services programs and operations are subject
to internal review (Program Review) and must maintain accreditation by
the American Correctional Association. Each institution is also
required to provide data to the Health Services Division (HSD) in the
form of outcome measures for a variety of clinical conditions (HIV,
hypertension, diabetes, and so forth). These evaluative and
accreditation activities provide HSD with valuable data regarding the
quality and appropriateness of health care in BOP. The majority of BOP
medical staff are civil service clinical and support professionals,
and the remaining staff are U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)
Commissions Corps Officers serving in a wide variety of clinical and
specialty professions. USPHS provides these clinicians and
administrators via an interagency agreement.
Funding categories[A]: Food Service;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: BOP
provides daily meals with consideration to the Dietary Reference
Intakes (DRI) for groups published by the Food and Nutrition Board of
the National Academy of Sciences, for identified macro- and
micronutrients. Meal preparation is accomplished primarily by inmate
workers (about 12 percent of the population) under the supervision of
staff. Food preparation and recipe and menu management are maintained
by the use of a standardized national menu and a computerized Food
Service management software system. United States Penitentiary Lompoc,
California, and Federal Correction Institution El Reno, Oklahoma,
utilize available land resources in limited production of beef and
milk. Farm products are consumed at the producing institutions and are
also shipped to nearby institutions to offset their need to purchase
some products on the open market.
During fiscal year 2014, BOP estimates serving over 206 million meals,
which is nearly 566,000 meals per day and over 3.9 million meals per
week. Despite cost containment measures, the annual costs have risen
because of the growing inmate population and inflationary factors.
Funding categories[A]: Educational and Vocational Training;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: Inmate
education programs include literacy, English as a Second Language
(ESL), occupational education, advanced occupational education (AOE),
parenting, release preparation courses, and a wide range of adult
continuing, wellness, and structured and unstructured leisure time
activities. Education programming provides inmates with an opportunity
to learn the functional skills that support their reintegration into
the community. At the end of fiscal year 2012, 35 percent of the
designated inmate population was enrolled in one of more
education/recreation program. BOP's Office of Research has found that
participation in education programs leads to a 16 percent reduction in
recidivism by inmates who participate in these programs.
Funding categories[A]: Psychology Services;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries:
Psychology Services staff are an integral part of correctional
treatment, as they administer programs of group and individual
psychotherapy, crisis intervention, prosocial skill building, and
staff consultation and training. BOP policy requires that every inmate
admitted to a BOP facility be given an initial psychological
screening, which consists of psychological interviews, social history
reviews, and behavioral observation. The purposes of the screening are
to identify special treatment or referral needs, provide information
useful in future crisis counseling situations, identify strengths as
well as potential adjustment problems to imprisonment, and discuss
possible program needs with the inmates and provide information about
these programs. In addition, BOP psychologists have traditionally
provided the courts, parole officials, and prison administrators with
comprehensive psychological evaluations of offenders.
Inmates with mental health needs are offered a range of services,
including crisis counseling, individual and group psychotherapy,
clinical case management, psychiatric treatment, and specialized
residential treatment programs. Acutely mentally ill inmates may
receive these services within BOP's Psychiatric Referral Centers.
However, most mental health treatment is provided in regular
institutions. In addition to the treatment of mental illnesses,
Psychology Services provides specialized drug abuse treatment and sex
offender treatment programs.
BOP psychologists also offer treatment services designed to develop
inmates' life skills, such as anger management, problem solving,
social skills training, and stress management.
Funding categories[A]: Drug Abuse Treatment;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: In
response to the rapid growth of federal inmates with a diagnosis of a
drug disorder (40 percent of inmates entering BOP), BOP continues to
develop evidence-based treatment practices to manage and treat drug-
using offenders. BOP's strategy includes early identification through
a psychology screening, drug education, nonresidential drug abuse
treatment, intensive residential drug abuse treatment, and community
transition treatment.
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLEA) of 1994
requires BOP, subject to the availability of appropriations, to
provide appropriate substance abuse treatment for 100 percent of
inmates who have a diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence and who
volunteer for treatment. In fiscal year 2012, BOP was able to provide
appropriate substance abuse treatment for 100 percent of eligible
inmates.
Funding categories[A]: Religious Services;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: BOP
employs full-time chaplains in all institutions to accommodate the
constitutional right to the free exercise of religion, manage
religious programs, and provide pastoral care to inmates. Chaplains
routinely evaluate the needs of inmates in the institution and
facilitate programs that address those needs. Religious Services
departments offer programs directly related to spiritual development,
community reentry, family relationships, personal responsibility, and
basic religious instruction. Chaplains provide spiritual programs
across the spectrum of faiths represented in the inmate population.
Chaplains also train and familiarize staff regarding diverse religious
beliefs and practices of inmates while providing guidance for
institution compliance with the First Amendment and legal standard
established by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Second
Chance Act of 2007. The passage of the Second Chance Act of 2007
ushered in the opportunity to utilize mentors in the delivery of
pastoral care. Policy is being developed to expand the use of mentors;
23 mentor coordinator positions have been approved at Life Connections
and Threshold Program sites.
Contract confinement:
Funding categories[A]: Community Corrections and Detention Services
Branch;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries:
Responsible for the general program and policy development for BOP's
network of approximately 250 contract residential reentry centers.
Community Corrections and Detention also works with community
corrections contracting (CCC) to offer technical assistance in the
acquisition process for Residential Reentry Centers services. CCD
provides technical assistance to BOP's 22 community corrections
offices in the areas of contract oversight, case management, inmate
systems management, and financial management. Responsibility for BOP's
network of contract confinement facilities for federal juvenile
offenders and short-term detention facilities also rests with CCD.
Funding categories[A]: Privatization Management Branch;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries:
Responsible for coordinating BOP's efforts in managing a growing
population of nearly 29,000 inmates located in contractor-operated
secure correctional facilities. Staff from this branch oversee the
management and operation of facilities; develop new requirements,
establish policy and procedures, develop and manage contract budgets,
and serve as liaisons among the contractors and BOP and other members
of the federal family.
Funding categories[A]: National Institute of Corrections;
Institution security and administration: Narrative summaries: Also
included in this decision unit is the National Institute of
Corrections (NIC), a federal entity that is authorized by statute 18
USC 4351 to provide training, technical assistance, and information
services to federal, state, and local correctional agencies, including
BOP. NIC provides technical assistance by sending a technical resource
provider or staff to the requesting agency, or an individual or team
of individuals from the requesting system visits another agency to
gain expertise and experience in the specific area of concern. In
fiscal year 2012, NIC delivered 244 technical assistance training
events to federal, state, and local justice agencies.
NIC is also responsible for the National Corrections Academy (NCA),
which serves as the training division that provides training and
related services for federal, state, and local correctional
practitioners. By developing and delivering training to prisons, jails
and community corrections practitioners, the academy enhances
interaction among correctional agencies, other components of the
criminal justice system, public policymakers, and public and private
stakeholder organizations, thus improving correctional programming
throughout the country.
Source: BOP fiscal year 2014 budget justification.
[A] For the purpose of analysis, we used the terms "category" and
"subcategory" to describe the structure of BOP's budget justification,
and although BOP officials did not use these terms to describe BOP's
initiatives, services, and organizational units, they generally agreed
to the use of the terms "category "and "subcategory" as a way to
describe the organization of their annual budget justification.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
David C. Maurer, (202) 512-9627 or MaurerD@gao.gov.
Staff Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact named above, Chris Keisling (Assistant
Director), Carol Henn (Assistant Director), Melissa Wolfe (Assistant
Director), Kristen Kociolek (Assistant Director), Vanessa D. Dillard,
John Vocino, Billy Commons, Pedro Almoguera, Lara Miklozek, Linda
Miller, Mary Catherine Hult, and Eric Hauswirth made key contributions
to this report.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] These projections are from BOP's 2020 capacity plan dated January
10, 2010. BOP's 2020 long-range capacity plan projected continued
growth in the federal prison population from fiscal years 2012 through
2020, with system-wide crowding exceeding 45 percent through 2018. For
more information, see GAO, Bureau of Prisons: Growing Inmate Crowding
Negatively Affects Inmates, Staff, and Infrastructure, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-743] (Washington, D.C.: Sept.12,
2012). According to BOP's fiscal year 2014 budget justification, as
the inmate population continues to increase, BOP projects a continued
increase in required resources to provide for safe inmate
incarceration and care, and the safety of BOP staff and the
surrounding communities. Residential reentry management offices
identify a need for residential reentry center (i.e., halfway house)
services in a specific area and administer contract services related
to the centers' operations.
[2] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-743].
[3] See GAO, A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-743SP] (Washington,
D.C.: September 2005).
[4] Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and
Execution of the Budget, OMB Circular No. A-11.
[5] For example, see GAO, Veterans' Health Care Budget: Transparency
and Reliability of Some Estimates Supporting President's Request Could
Be Improved, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-689]
(Washington, D.C.: June 11, 2012); Internal Revenue Service:
Assessment of Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2011 Identified
Opportunities to Enhance Transparency, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-687R] (Washington, D.C.: May 26,
2010); Army Corps of Engineers: Budget Formulation Process Emphasizes
Agencywide Priorities, but Transparency of Budget Presentation Could
Be Improved, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-453]
(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 2, 2010).
[6] For example, see GAO, IRS 2013 Budget: Continuing to Improve
Information on Program Costs and Results Could Aid in Resource
Decision Making, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-603]
(Washington, D.C.: June 8, 2012).
[7] GAO, Bureau of Prisons: Methods for Cost Estimation Largely
Reflect Best Practices, but Quantifying Risks Would Enhance Decision
Making, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-94]
(Washington, D.C.: Nov. 10, 2009).
[8] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-94].
[9] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-94]. GAO closed
these recommendations as implemented.
[10] Pub. L. No. 112-55, 125 Stat. 552 (2011).
[11] H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 112-284, at 241 (2011).
[12] Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and
Execution of the Budget, OMB Circular No. A-11; Department of Justice,
Memorandum for Heads of Department Components, Guidance for Preparing
Fiscal Year 2013 Budgets (Washington, D.C.: May 23, 2011); and GAO,
GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for
Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-3SP] (Washington, D.C.: March
2009). GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide is a compilation of
cost-estimating best practices drawn from across industry and
government.
[13] The S&E account includes annual and multiyear appropriations,
while the B&F account includes no-year appropriations. No-year
appropriation is budget authority that remains available for
obligation for an indefinite period of time. In addition, BOP is
responsible for a Trust Fund account that receives spending authority
from offsetting collections for revenue earned through the sale of
goods and services. According to BOP's 2012 financial audit, Federal
Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI)--also called UNICOR--is a separate
reporting component of DOJ. FPI employs and provides job skills
training to federal inmates. We did not include the Trust Fund and FPI
budget accounts in our review because they are non-appropriated
accounts.
[14] According to BOP officials, they use the cost data they maintain
in DOJ's Financial Management Information System to develop estimated
dollar amounts for the cost components that compose BOP's PPAs.
[15] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-94]. FMIS supports
DOJ components' financial management requirements. FMIS includes
various modules to support the financial and administrative
requirements of DOJ's components. BOP officials said that they use
FMIS to maintain BOP's historical cost and budget data.
[16] Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and
Execution of the Budget, OMB Circular No. A-11.
[17] FMIS supports BOP's financial management requirements. FMIS
includes various modules to support the financial and administrative
requirements of DOJ's components.
[18] BOP uses a calculation model to identify the number of inmates
currently in BOP's system and the length of those inmates' sentences,
as well as the number of inmates estimated to enter the BOP system and
the length of their sentences. Using this model, BOP identifies each
inmate as a unique record tied to variables such as conviction year,
sentence term, and conviction type, with data obtained from a variety
of sources, including the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts,
the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Executive Office for U.S.
Attorneys. .
[19] According to BOP officials, after the budget was submitted they
revised the projected inmate growth based on their current estimate of
3,200 for fiscal year 2014, which is equal to a 1.4 percent change in
inmate population.
[20] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-3SP]
[21] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-94].
[22] According to BOP officials, the revised total inmate population
for fiscal year 2009 was 208,759.
[23] According to BOP officials, they have revised their projected
annual increase in total inmate population to about 3,000 inmates per
year over the next 10-year period.
[24] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-743].
[25] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-687R].
[26] GAO, Veterans' Health Care Budget: Better Labeling of Services
and More Detailed Information Could Improve the Congressional Budget
Justification, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-908]
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 18, 2012).
[27] According to OMB, cost drivers are those variables that, when
changed in value, create the greatest changes in cost. Office of
Management and Budget, Capital Planning Guide, Supplement to OMB
Circular No. A-11: Planning, Budgeting, and Acquisition of Capital
Assets (July 2013).
[28] BOP's B&F account, which makes up on average less than 3 percent
of its budget, pays for costs associated with site planning;
acquisition; and construction of new facilities and costs of
remodeling, renovating, and equipping existing facilities for penal
and correctional use. BOP's S&E account on average makes up more than
95 percent of its budget.
[29] The President's 2014 budget request also included $105 million
for BOP's B&F account.
[30] According to our analysis of the President's budget request for
BOP, the S&E account increased slightly from $6,820,217,000 for fiscal
year 2013 to $6,831,150,000 for fiscal year 2014.
[31] OMB and GAO define "program, project, or activity" as an element
within a budget account. For budgetary purposes, DOJ uses the term
"decision units" to refer to PPAs. BOP's budget justification also
includes summary cost information for each account by object
classification, such as personnel compensation, supplies and
materials, and equipment. The B&F account has two PPA elements: (1)
New Construction funding to expand existing facilities and acquire or
construct new prison facilities, and (2) Modernization and Repair
funding to keep existing facilities in an adequate state of repair to
provide a safe and secure environment to continue prison operations.
[32] BOP's Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is an evidence-based
treatment program intended to treat drug offenders and reduce
recidivism. RDAP requires inmates to identify, confront, and alter the
attitudes, values, and thinking patterns that lead to criminal and
drug-using behavior.
[33] All institutions are assigned a security classification level
based in part on the physical design of each facility. There are four
security levels: minimum, low, medium, and high. Additionally, there
is an administrative category for institutions that house a variety of
specialized populations such as pretrial, medical, mental health, sex
offender, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.
[34] In fiscal year 2013, BOP reported that 19 percent of the inmate
population was housed outside of BOP facilities in alternative
confinement, including private prisons, Residential Reentry Centers
(RRC or halfway houses), state and local facilities, and home
detention. BOP's National Institute of Corrections provides training,
technical assistance, information services, and policy and program
development assistance to federal, state, and local correctional
agencies.
[35] The President's budget request for BOP for fiscal years 2008 and
2009 reflects that BOP officials incorporated Management and
Administration costs into the other PPA elements in the S&E and B&F
accounts. In fiscal year 2010, officials reverted to the historical
approach of reflecting M&A costs as a separate PPA element in response
to congressional and OMB guidance. For the purposes of our analysis
and to more clearly illustrate trends in BOP's budget, we prorated the
M&A costs for these 2 fiscal years (2008 and 2009) to approximate the
dollars associated with the M&A PPA element for those years. BOP
officials agreed that the prorated allocation effectively approximated
the dollars associated with M&A for those years.
[36] According to BOP's fiscal year 2014 budget justification, budget
offsets reflect management actions to streamline operations, improve
program efficiencies, and reduce costs to ensure the lowest possible
costs despite the growing inmate population. According to BOP's fiscal
year 2014 budget justification, the summary of increases reflects
BOP's program changes or improvements such as facility openings and
drug treatment program expansion and decreases reflect BOP's
management actions to streamline operations, improve program
efficiencies and reduce costs.
[37] For the purposes of our analysis, we used the terms "category"
and "subcategory" to describe the structure of BOP's annual budget
justification based on our review of BOP's annual budget justification
for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014. Although BOP officials did not
use the terms "category" and "subcategory" to describe the
initiatives, services, and organizational units reflected in BOP's
annual budget justification, they generally agreed to the use of these
terms as a way to describe the organization of their annual budget
justification.
[38] See GAO, Bureau of Prisons: Timelier Reviews, Plan for
Evaluation, and Updated Policies Could Improve Mental Health Services
Oversight, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-1]
(Washington, D.C.: July 17, 2013).
[39] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-1].
[40] Congressional Research Service, The Federal Prison Population
Buildup: Overview, Policy Changes, Issues, and Options, R42937
(Washington, D.C.: Jan. 22, 2013).
[41] Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034 (2009).
[42] H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366, at 671 (2009).
[43] Department of Justice, Fiscal Years 2012-2016 Strategic Plan,
(Washington, D.C.).
[44] Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, Statement of Federal
Financial Accounting Standards 4: Managerial Cost Accounting Standards
and Concepts, July 31, 1995. According to the standard, "It is
important to note that the Board's authority does not extend to
recommending budgetary standards or budgetary concepts, and that is
not the purpose of this statement. However, the Board is committed to
providing relevant and reliable cost accounting information that
supports budget planning, formulation, and execution."
[End of section]
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